My Perception of Reality Is Wrong, As Expected
by Viakaul
Summary: Hikigaya Hachiman finds himself embroiled in the fate of the world, fighting both himself and the demons that seem to be spawning from people's subconscious minds. But before that, he has to unravel the complex web of social landmines that surround his daily life. Trying to have fun and write a good story at the same time. Criticism is welcomed but please be soft on me, I'm weak.
1. Expectedly, His Only Path Led To Ruin

Destiny.

Fate.

The misguided self-deception that humanity has- no, deserves providence. The idea that every action we take has been planned, and every event in our lives has a meaning.

Truly, the most disgusting form of delusion I'd ever seen.

I say disgusting, but perhaps revolting would be the correct word. Seeing as how testimonials from myself and many others agree, that I am in fact disgusting, I'd prefer to at least have something under my current level of existence.

Wait, isn't that sad? Did I just admit that I think I'm a disgusting human being?

Regardless of my own likeness to cockroaches or dead sea animals, I firmly, if perhaps hypocritcally, believe that the idea of fate is below my own classification.

Which is why, with a misguided sense of superiority, I was able to meet the long-nosed man in front of me with confidence.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room.

This is a place between dream and reality. Mind, and matter."

"Most people don't introduce themselves via the setting. And while we're on the topic of setting I'd prefer if you gave me a destination rather than vague bullshit."

Infuriatingly, the Long-Nosed Man was strangely unfazed. That held signs of an experienced kidnapper. Well, of course I wouldn't know, but if I was going to kidnap someone, I sure as hell wouldn't give them leverage in any form, even just conversation.

...What?

Come on, I'm not one to fantasize about kidnapping and torturing people. Okay, maybe I've thought about it once or twice.

"I speak not of destination, but rather state of existence. This world is built upon your interpretation of fate, and the role you play in it. Based on your... appearance, it seems rather fitting that it would take this form."

I glanced around, and was immediately surprised at myself. Getting into long-winded monologues was genuinely going to kill me one day. The fact that they were capable of drawing my attention from something so outrageous was only indicitave of my future as a stab victim. The police will be so confused when they find a teenage kid with nineteen puncture wounds on the street and no signs of a struggle.

The scene so insane, so fundamentally impossible that it caused me to rethink my one self-perceived admirable trait, was perhaps outside of even my comprehension.

I was currently in a cage reminiscient of a prison cell. Only, the door was completely open. There was no barrier keeping me from walking straight out and beating up that Long-Nosed man, except for the nearly invisble, but unbreakable tether that connected the skin on my back to the rear of the cell. It was so hard to remove that it seemed to be surgically implanted inside my chest.

Directly outside the cage is where the fantasticality began to show. A thick fog covered everything around me. Staring into it was nauseating, but when I perservered something strangely familiar greeted me. It was mirrors, but within, were the changing faces of people and places. There were so many that I began to feel suffocated by the sheer density. It looked like those pictures I had seen of American cities at night. Packed to the brim with people laughing, smiling, crying, and each of them changing at imperceptible rates, while also ignoring the ever changing woes of their fellow.

I was never one to easily cave to persuasion. Even with evidence that seemed to be completely unshakeable, the character of Hikigaya Hachiman was just not someone who could accept this, not easily at least. But when faced with this scene, I was almost immediately convinced. This was the world that I lived in, there was no doubt about it. The facades and insincere lies that people wear everyday. It was something I was uncomfortably aware of.

My own self-proclaimed catchphrase has always been "Youth is a lie." But perhaps what I meant was, "Life is a lie."

Free will, was a lie. And, if I were to extend this line of thought further, even the concept of "Genuine" was a lie.

For if there is no way to live without conforming to the life of facades, and anything "Genuine" is crushed and thrown away, then what remains of that concept? If human language is so fundamentally flawed that it does not allow the understanding of another human being to the point of such true acceptance, than how can this concept of "Genuine" even be reached?

And I, surely, am just as foolish as any other. Chasing after a fleeting dream that could never be reached. Just the perfect type of fool to run full speed on a treadmill. Despite the constant warnings from friends and family, despite the countless times I've fallen and been hurt, I still intend to run towards an impossible goal, reaching for an ideal that doesn't exist.

Without a doubt, not only the world, but also the existence of Hikigaya Hachiman was perfectly represented.

Inside a cage wide open, freely able to leave of my own will, yet stubbornly dedicated to my own captivity. Tethered by my own heart.

I would've burst into laughter. I would've cackled at the invisble people responsible for this cruel joke, but if I was anything, it was self-aware. I knew of my own disgusting flaws more than anyone, and I took pride in them. But even then, if finding comfort in the vile reflection of my own traits was conforming to the facades that forced me to adapt in the first place, who could say I was anything but in denial?

Perhaps lost in thought, I hadn't noticed the soft chuckling of the Long-Nosed man. It felt as if he was mocking me. No, I was sure he was.

Like every face hidden in the fog, he was laughing at me for my stubbornness. For my ignorance. For my head-strong self-destructiveness. It didn't matter. If I knew one thing, it was that Hikigaya Hachiman would never change. After all, to change is to deny yourself.

"Why am I here?" I spoke with a start, my voice surprisingly thin, even to myself.

"This world is on a path to ruin. The facade that has attached itself to the face of this world threatens to grow and eventually consume it. In that way, the fate of this world and your own fate are irreversibly intertwined with one another. In the near future, you will meet a series of strange and unexplainable events. You shall also do your best to resolve these problems. In this way, you shall be freed from the shackles of your own heart and this world will be saved from ruin.

Or perhaps, it will not." With his delirious and insane voice, he responded. His tone sounded as if he was perpetually entertained by the state of the world. As if, in some strange way, this were all a game to him.

I am not a smart person, I will be the very first to admit that. If I were intelligent, I'm sure I would never had made the mistakes I have up to this point in my very, very short life. However, one would have to be a bonafide, real life, unbelievably "genuine" fool in order not to recognize that this being was somehow made of something bigger than myself.

"Who, or what, are you? Why can you see or meddle with the "fate" of humans anyways?" I asked somewhat rudely. I'm sure my eyes flared in annoyance as they stared the comically proportioned man down.

"My name is Igor, Master of the Velvet Room. My seemingly audacious behaviour needs no explanation or pretense. I am here to help you, and lead you from ruin. Whether or not you accept my offer is something only you will be able to decide." Despite his delirious sounding voice, the man spoke with unprecedented confidence. His tone left no room for misunderstanding.

"It seems we are out of time. I shall see you again soon." He abruptly cut off any semblance of interpretation that I had been trying to muster, and I found myself lost in a darkness oddly similar to sleep.

Expectedly, His Only Path Led To Ruin


	2. In Appearance

I was inclined to believe the supernatural experience I had just had while sleeping was completely false. A stray fragment of my imagination left maddeningly prominent during my concious hours.

Or, more simply, a dream.

However, there were a few things that made it almost impossible.

The strange sense of awareness I held throughout the entire experience. How I was able to remember every insignificant detail as if it were my everyday life. Even my most fantastical and memorable dreams had a layer of friction between them and reality. Although I would never be able to identify what it was, something stood prominently in my mind that allowed me to maintain the common sense that "this was obviously a dream, and not real life."

No such thing stood in the way of that experience.

There was no discernable difference between Igor and reality. By itself, these things would not be capable of convincing me, as stated before. My cynical attitude had been forged in the fires of social hell, something so weak should've been ineffective in breaking through my wall of self-denial.

However, looking into the mirror, expecting to see a rotten pair of fish eyes staring back at me, only served to shatter my refusal of reality.

Staring back me from the mirror was, in fact, not the pair of eyes I had grown accustomed to seeing everyday. A mask, all too similar to the blank faces of my "dream" appeared. It was completely empty, and the only distinguishable feature it held, besides being surrounded by an infinite amount of vomit inducing fog, was a pair of lifeless eyes. Black holes that replaced the existence of any pupil.

It was completely indecipherable. I was absolutely sure that I was staring into a mirror, my mirror, in fact. What did this mean about me? Was it like that so called velvet room, did it speak about the disgusting recesses of my mind, the dark reality that even I couldn't face?

Moving my head, I found that, just like a reflection, it moved in tandem with me. Other than it's appearance, it acted as it should, imitating my movements in perfect synergy, despite the fact that there was no torso or anything resembling limbs.

I ignored it.

Despite the fact that I wanted to stand there and stare aimlessly into my own reflection, life wouldn't be waiting for me to understand whatever supernatural event that was currently affecting me.

"Onii-chan!

Oh...you're awake?"

Her timing sure is impeccable. It's a good thing she hadn't walked in on the image of me trying to touch my own face through the mirror.

"Yeah, I am. So hard to believe that you're elder brother could wake himself up for school?" I asked, ignoring the clear look of disbelief on my sister's face.

"You're right, it's extremely hard to believe, but instead of questioning my sanity like any other person would, I'll just trust my amazing brother and go back downstairs.

Oh, I can feel the Komachi points on that one!" She exclaimed, seeming genuinely convinced of her benevolent nature.

"I'm almost one-hundred percent sure that was an insult."

I've always found it kind of strange how entusiastic people were to comment on my way of life. Like, aren't you scared of implanting some sort of inferiority complex and forever ruining my own self-perception? Well I'm me, so I don't really care too much, but what if I was some normal person? Surely they'd have some crippling self-esteem issues.

Ah, whatever.

Morning's sure are monotonous. Even subtracting the feeling of having my own psychological state spiral out of control, it really is tiring to have to get up every single day and do work.

Someone other than me might even find the warming rays of sunlight and the cool breeze against their face somewhat nice and relaxing. I only felt that the sun was mocking me with it's unapologetic rays of optimism. And don't even mention the breeze, moving my stuff around and disrupting my body tempature every single time I started to feel comfortable.

I really do hate spring.

Not to mention I have to continue riding this bike every single goddamn day. I deserve some sort of reward, don't I?

Despite my genuine enthusiasm to berate the irresponsible expectations of spring and it's inconvenient weather, life once again decided that I was going to go work, no matter how much I silently argued. As such, I arrived at school in what felt like record time.

I opened the door to the classroom quickly and silently, before moving to my desk. Stealth Hikki: Secret Attack Defense Mode came in useful again, only moments later I realized that I wasn't actually late, and that Hiratsuka-sensei wouldn't have any reason to violently abuse me.

Of course, it's still a good habit to have. Who knows when that gorilla will find some reason to attack me. It's in her nature, I've come to believe.

Certainly, the inhospitable battleground known lovingly to it's ignorant warriors as the "Classroom" was a place that required a near peak level of environmental awareness in order to safely navigate. I, personally, have seen many an unknowing adolescent ripped apart in the merciless and unforgiving war of youth.

In fact, my cousin's friend's friend had been ridiculed mercilessly after having tripped and fallen over his chair one time. He would never forget that incident, and would go on to tell me how traumatizing it has been for m-him from that point on.

Of course, having learned from that mistake, I would never find myself caught off guard by anyone, or anything(such as a stray chair).

"Hikki!" In a flash of pink hair and a jiggle of something I could never name, a high pitched voice had somehow found it's home next to me. That high-pitched voice, of course, belonged to Yuigahama Yui.

Godamnit woman, have you somehow developed some sort of anti-hikki attack? Has my impenetrable fortress been penetrated? I will have to further research this!

"What do you want?"

Of course, although all alarms are currently active, I have to continue my facade of nonchalance. Or maybe that's just how I normally am? Pfft, who cares?

I would be lying if I said her characteristic pout wasn't cute, though. I mean, not enough to pierce my cyncism defense systems, but we did take quite a hit on our portside.

"Why do you do that everytime?! I just want to talk to you!"

Ok, ok, don't make that face! Didn't your parents tell you that you're supposed to keep the most powerful attacks for last? Come on, that's cheating!

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Now did you need something?"

"Everyone is going out later today, I am too." Yuigahama spoke matter-of-factly.

"I don't particularly see how that has anything to do with me."

"Come on, you know what I meant! Will you please come?"

"N-" As always, my response was going to be a nice, succinct, and indisputable no. But, my thoughts wandered back to this morning. If I was to be left alone, I would run around and tear myself apart. I want to be alone, I want to enjoy sleeping, and I want to be able to read in my room for hours on end.

But, the idea of having to face that mirror. Of having to face whatever was staring back at me, usurping the position of my own face.

That scared me.

Like before, I can run away. I will run away. It's what I've always done, and it's what I'll continue to do.

People like to testify that running from your problems is useless, and ultimately, fruitless.

I disagree.

Perhaps, for a normal person, the stress of that problem would weigh on their mind. They would never see a moment's respite from their troubles. However, for me, I have mastered the art of running away. I can push and ignore whatever ails me. And, even if the inevitable happens and I am forced to face whatever horrors have been festering behind my back, I will still treasure the time I spent doing everything besides that.

That is the character of Hikigaya Hachiman.

"Hellooooo! You there? You just went quite all of a sudden."

"Yeah, I'm fine. And I'll come along with you as well."

"I kno- wait really?" Complete disbelief was obvious in every aspect of her being.

Taking into account this morning and this very incident right now, I certainly have been acting out of character. But then again, it was more like I was forced out of my comfort zone.

"No really, could you repeat that?" She spoke again, this time seemingly more sure that she had hallucinated.

"I said I'm coming. You're being annoying." And she really was. Not that I would want her to stop. It's one of her endearing traits, I'd say.

Even more importantly though, I was almost able to ignore the foreboding sense of dread stewing in my chest after having agreed to go to a social outing. Yuigahama's smile was one of the very few things that could do that to me.

"Thanks, Hikki! This is going to be so fun!" I couldn't help but smirk slightly as she ran away. I might not be naive enough to mistake that genuine smile of happiness for affection, but Yuigahama was a person who made other people happy with her presence. Even a loner such as myself isn't immune.

Of course, like everything else in my life, the happiness doesn't last too long.

"Where the hell is Hikigaya!? Oh wait there he is."

I appreciate that she didn't start throwing punches at the air above my seat, because it really looked like she would for a second.

With Hiratsuka-sensei's entrance, the room entered a soft quiet. However, due to my growing anxiety about my psychological state, I couldn't fall asleep. I used to pride myself on being able to sleep whenever, wherever. In fact, I still pride myself on that. But somehow, every time I close my eyes I see those same pair of eyes. I hear the laughter of that long-nosed fart.

And so, no sleep.

Wait, wait, wait. Our radar has just detected an S-Class monster! All systems red! Sir, the cyncism defense systems are failing! They won't hold on much longer!

"Hachiman! How are you?"

He's blinding me! His light and purity are blinding me!

"I'm fine, thanks."

"Really? You don't look too good. You're pretty pale, are you sure you're okay?"

That tender tone, that look of pure distress and concern!

Men, it's been an honor to serve. I will go down with the ship, you must make your way to the escape pods.

We lost to an admirable foe.

"No, no, I'm fine."

"Oh...okay. If you aren't feeling well, then you have to go the nurse, okay?"

"Yeah, I will. Actually, I'm tagging along with Yuigahama, her and her friends are going out. You wanna come?"

Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes.

"Ummm..."

Hmmm, in what other situation would I be able to imagine a male asking a very feminine looking person to go somewhere with him. Nope, can't think of it. Or rather, I refuse to.

Indeed, Totsuka isn't female! I have no reason for this anxiety in my chest!

"You don't have to come if you don't want to."

"No! I mean, I do want to come, but I have practice today..."

Ah, well. Even being in the presence of an angel for a few more moments was worth it. I was lucky that he would even spend time with a lower life form such as myself, how benevolent.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. We'll just go out together later. Just the two of us. Together."

"That was a very strange way to say it, but you're right! See you later!" He excitedly yelled to me as he made his way out of the classroom.

I feel as if my life has become slightly dimmer now that the light of Totsuka has left me. What do I do with myself? Who am I? What is the meaning of life?

"Hikki!"

And there she is. I'd say right on time, but she never is, is she?

"Yes, I'm going to club. And no, I can't look more excited about it."

"No no, that's not it. Club is cancelled."

"Why is that?" I asked, genuinely confused. Yukino couldn't be having problems with her family again or something right?

"I asked Yukinon to come along with us after you said yes."

I don't see how those two things are related to anything, or how that is an answer to my question.

"I don't see how those two things are related to anything, or how that is an answer to my question."

"Don't worry about it! All that matters is that she's coming too."

Hey, I'm the absolute best at following orders. Especially when the order is "don't worry about it." Not worrying is my specialty.

"Who else is coming, besides the group you hang out with?"

"First of all, I'd appreciate it if you didn't say 'group' with such obvious disgust. Second, Iroha-chan, Saki-chan, and a few other people are coming."

When did she get the time to ask all these people? Furthermore, why did Tatsumaki even say yes? Isn't she a loner like me?

Yuigahama must've seen my confusion.

"Well, Iroha and Saki weren't coming at first, but then I asked you."

"Wouldn't Isshiki come for Hayama anyways?" She was probably looking reluctant to be cute or something.

"Mou, you're so stupid sometimes!"

What, why?

"What, w-"

"Just come on!"

In Appearance, Hikigaya Hachiman's Life Remained the Same


	3. Amusingly

Have I ever mentioned how much I love a good menu?

When you're sitting in a restaurant, be that alone or with friends, the absolute last thing you want is to have people waiting on you to order because you were too busy fumbling through the menu. Of course, I haven't experienced this sort of social calamity, how could I when I have no friends? However, I can still imagine thousands of budding teenagers around the world perplexed by this responsibility, and maybe even feeling that their entire social life may hang on the balance of whether or not the menu of a resturaunt was simple and easy to understand.

In short, I love a good menu.

That is exactly why I am staring at this very well designed menu in front of me, and why I am studying every intricate detail upon said menu, despite having decided what I was going to order quite some time ago.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the, well, what could only be described as a "war zone" that seems to have shrouded the entire table. Of course, the table I'm referring to is the table myself and a number of other socially active teenagers are currently sharing at this popular family resturaunt.

And the "war zone" I'm referring to could only be the intense atmosphere created by both younger and elder Yukinoshita, who both seem to have been invited to this outing.

How in the world did this even happen? I thought it was common knowledge that the two of them were fire and water, and that any social event with the both of them in it was doomed to fail.

Though, Yuigahama's bashful expression of apology does give me a few ideas.

Looking around, I noticed that an abnormal amount of people had been invited and actually showed up to this. What even was "this," are we celebrating or something?

What in the world happened to get so many people together?

I mean, even Shiromeguri-senpai showed up! Does anyone here even have her number? Well, actually yeah, Yuigahama probably does.

"Hello, Nee-chan. How have you been?"

Oh wait, I forgot. The two of them haven't even begun conversing yet. The intensity of Yukino's gaze towards her sister was so strong that I hadn't even considered the possibility that they would actually begin trading words with one another.

Well, I guess it's time for me to escape.

Fear not, for I have the most powerful defense ever created by man! The old, tired, but ultimately reliable "I have to use the bathroom" card. I pity those without my foresight who will be left with no defense when the true wave hits, but I must defend myself, and I will have to leave everyone behind.

Farewell, comrades! You'll have to think of your own excuse, ha!

"Hey, I'm gonna go use t-"

"Oh, it's Hikigaya-kun! Hey!" Said Haruno, a little too excited if I do say so myself, especially considering there was absolutely no way she hadn't seen me before now.

Wait, no, there's still a chance of escape!

"Hello, Yukinoshita-san. I'm just gonna go to the bat-"

"But the waiter's here," She said through her smile, as she waved a waitress to the table,"We're all gonna be ordering now so you might as well."

Dammit, she has me.

I sigh as I deflate back into my seat, which is comfortably positioned at the corner of the booth. I compliment past me on his foresight, despite that not having totally panned out this time.

"And to answer your question Yukino, I've been very well."

"Is that so? I'm happy." Is what Yukino said, but I'm getting the feeling she wasn't very geniune about that.

Ha. Geniune.

"So what are you guys getting?"

Oh, good move Hayama. As expected of you, a very smooth and clean transition. It's as if that entire interaction from before hadn't even happened. If it weren't for literally everything about your person, including that, I might start holding some semblance of respect for you.

But, alas.

Like that, conversation slowed a bit as everyone ordered one by one. I, myself, went for a good ol' ramen since you can never go wrong with that. The fact that I have almost no money may have had some sort of influence on the choice as well, but we'll ignore that.

As the waitress left, the table, or should I say multiple tables pulled together, erupted into many small conversations. If I weren't myself, I'd probably say it looked like teenagers enjoying their youth and being roudy. Because I am myself, I'm just gonna go ahead and say that the sound is extremely obnoxious.

Why did I even come here?

Ah...

Well, that just brought my mood from mildly annoyed to depressed extremely quickly.

"Senpai!"

Ah, the winds of spring. Some unsuspecting upperclassmen is being called by a young female eager for his attention. How nice, you damn riajuu.

"Seeeenpai!" The voice repeated, obviously intent on provoking a reaction of some kind from her upperclassmen of choice.

Wait.

"Senp-"

"Yes, Iroha?" Despite her deliberately piercing call in my direction, we were actually sitting directly across from each other, making her loud tone completely unnecessary. I had been looking down at my phone so as to pre-emptively block off any forms of communication, but it seems Iroha was either that persistent or she knew me well enough to know I wasn't doing anything substantial.

It was probably both.

Now that I think about it, I haven't actually seen her in some time. I wonder why she hasn't been coming to the clubroom. Don't get me wrong, It's not like I want to do work, okay? It's just that I find it strange that she'd stop showing after so consistently asking for me to help her.

As I looked up at her, I could see she had her signature smile in place. With her head resting on her hand, she was looking directly at me when my gaze rose to meet hers.

Normally I would've asked her what exactly it was that she wanted from me, but you can't go to a social outing and be irritated that people are trying to socialize with you.

Oh wait, you can.

Well ignoring that, I am kind of curious about why I haven't seen her in a while. Since I'm socially inept at casually bringing up topics of conversation, I'll just wait until I get the perfect opportunity to bring it up.

"Soooo, how are you doing?" She asked with that same expression on her face. It was beginning to make me annoyed, and she almost certainly knew that.

"If I were at home reading a light novel I'd be great. How are you?" I said despite it not being true. Being at home wouldn't solve anything, and since I was starting to take that long nosed guy seriously, I suspect things wouldn't be "great" for some time.

"Ahhh, I'm fine now." She said, what had previously been a smirk now becoming a full-blown grin.

"What a nondescript way to answer the same question you just asked me."

Sitting back against the seat, she drawled "Weeeell, I've been doing a lot of student council stuff but that's it."

CHANCE GETTO

"Is that the reason why you haven't been coming to the clubroom?"

She said nothing for a few seconds, her gaze reflecting a hint of surprise, something I hadn't expected. Before I had a chance to press her further, her authentic expression of surprise gave way to what was clearly pretend mirth.

"Is it that you missed me, Senpai? Are you trying to hit on me right now? I appreciate your attempt but that was way too lackluster so no I'm sorry I still can't."

Was it just me or were these rejections getting increasingly positive?

Probably just me.

"I won't force you to talk about it. Just come to me when something too big for you comes up, alright?" I don't say it often, if at all, but I really do care for Iroha. We might not necessarily be friends, but Iroha is my kouhai. I don't want her getting in too deep and hurting herself.

"Sure, Senpai..." She spoke softly with her gaze turned towards her lap. I suppose she was embarrassed about being seen through, which I find is an extreme rarity nowadays. That damn fox is getting better and better at getting other people to do what she wants.

Eh? Why is it so quiet?

The table was so silent that even the sound of me adjusting in my chair was audible across the resturaunt. And now that I mention it, this entire place is empty. I hadn't been paying much attention, obviously, but I'm sure there were others here when we arrived. Also, if we're the only ones eating here, why is the food taking so long?

Something is blatantly wrong about this situation.

Bringing my eyes to Haruno, as one should always do when faced with a situation like this, I was met with a self-satisfied smile. She was staring right at me.

Why?

I glanced at Yukino, but she was only looking down and tightly gripping her blazer.

I try to talk to my kouhai for two whole seconds and this ends up happening?

With a sigh, I decided to figure out what happened. It'd irk me to no end if Haruno walked away from this having had her fun, as she usually does. I am doubly tired of this back and forth bullshit Haruno likes to play with. I'm done playing her game.

I am not her toy, and this is the last time she tries to play with me like one.

"Haruno, what did you do?" I said simply and with as little anger as I could, bringing almost everyone's eyes to me. That would be everyone except Yukino, I noted.

Her grin grew wider. I knew I was doing what she wanted. I was giving into her taunt and I knew that.

"Well, Hikigaya, I was just having fun, I don't know what happened all of a sudden." She said purposefully.

That's all she's ever doing, huh. "Having fun."

I promptly realized that Emperor Hayama was not doing his self assigned duty. That is, why the hell wasn't he talking if this table is completely quiet?

I took a look at Hayama, who seemed completely unperturbed by the current situation, and began to piece things together.

An event had taken place that was capable of making Yukino act the way she is now, and also shut Hayama up. That's something even I haven't been capable of doing no matter how many times I tell him to.

Okay, so something about their past? Maybe Haruno revealed something I myself have suspected for some time. Perhaps she had "nonchalantly" brought up a past relationship between the two of them.

It was a shot in the dark, and I'm not one to bank on complete conjecture.

"Yuigahama, what happened?" I said at a tone the whole table could hear. Trying to whisper would be stupid and only serve to make the situation worse.

"Well, uh..." She looked at Yukino before continuing, hesitant in both expression and words. She glanced at Yukino pleadingly, and could only continue when she found no sign of validation there.

In the time that this happened, I also took a fleeting look at Miura, who had her fists balled in anger. Yet, she remained silent.

Was she mad at me for having Yuigahama repeat it? Was she mad at Haruno for having said it in the first place? Both? Who knows. With that, though, the idea that a relationship happened between Hayama and Yukino had happened began to become more and more likely.

"Well, Haruno-san had brought up that uh...basically um, well..." Yuigahama, the Yuigahama was having trouble with her words. What the hell happened?

"Well basically, a looooong time ago" So far everything was I expected.

"Yukino had uh...liked Hayama." Okay, and?

"But uh, Hayama liked Haruno-san. So, she had said that "nobody was happy after that."

Okay, wasn't expecting that one. What Yuigahama had meant to say was "Haruno acted like a complete bitch and disregarded Hayama's feelings like they were nothing, while also insulting her own sister and humiliating the both of them." And so the room was awkwardly silent. At least, that was what I could gather from Yuigahama's shorthand explanation.

This explains Miura as well. As far as I can tell, she has an inferiority complex towards Yukino which had only been dwarfed by the fact that she thought nothing romantic had ever happened between her and Hayama. Now she comes to find out that Yukino had been interested in Hayama long before her?

Not a recipe for success, that's for sure.

Now, the most important question. How do I fix this and undermine Haruno at the same time?

Why the hell does a social-noncompliant like myself keep getting dropped into these problems of extreme social finesse?

"Ah," I said, nodding in understanding. "So then what?"

Yuigahama looked at me with wide eyes, seemingly confused at what I was saying.

"Don't tell me that's it?" I said as if only speaking to her despite the words being meant for everyone. "I had thought something serious happened but now I come to here it's just this. I guess there's no juicy gossip today." I said while leaning back, pretending to be pre-occupied sith my phone and leaning against the booth. My acting skills were surely beneath Haruno's, hell, even Hayama. But none of that mattered.

"Didn't you hear what she said!?" Yelled Miura, slamming the table with her palm.

Of course I did. I didn't like being yelled at by people of any gender who were capable of beating me up, but any risk is worth the reward if I can laugh in Haruno's face afterwards.

"Yeah of course I did." I said while nodding,"But didn't you hear her say it was years ago? I want something juicy as much as the next guy, but can you imagine who you were years ago?" I glanced Tattataki nodding vigorously out of the corner of my eye, which only caused me to wonder exactly what she was remembering. The most important thing was that it elicited a wince from Miura, which is exactly the feeling I'm trying to attack.

"I mean, unless everyone else thinks stuff that happened years ago is pertinent information...

You know what, maybe you're right. Just because it happened years ago doesn't mean it's not important. I mean, you guys could totally imagine doing all that stuff you did years ago right now, right?" I smiled past all the restrained groans that ensued from the previous statment, staying on the attack. "You've convinced me, Miura. All that stuff is relevant, you're completely right. How foolish of me."

I heard a nervous laugh break out from the table furthest from me, the third one. "Well, I don't think that's true. Now that you say it, it doesn't seem like a big deal at all, huh?" It was Tobe, a man who most certainly had a number of embarrasing secrets to keep. He just seemed like a person prone to making dumb mistakes.

He was wrong, though. For the standards of their little clique, this was life-threatening. Under normal circumstances, and if I had left this alone, their clique would likely dissolve as it came close to doing before. Hayama was the strongest and most important pillar of the group, but Miura played a critical role.

If this were to continue, Miura would probably first try at a new bullying streak against Yukino in an attempt to reinflate her own low self-esteem. After that, she'd probably realize just how dumb this all was and move on. Once her "love" for Hayama became truly tested, it'd shatter immediately. I think even she knows that, to some extent, which is why she fears Yukino so much. The moment Miura consciously realizes she's fallen for someone she doesn't know in the slightest, it'd crack his facade for her. That'd be the death of their clique right there. Without Miura, the entire balance of the group goes off.

While I did indeed feel guilty about perserving Miura's delusional love, if it could even be called that, towards Hayama for some petty revenge; I also had to look out for my own clubmates. Miura being off the leash would hurt both Yuigahama and Yukino.

She was complacent in her current position due to her own choices, and I wasn't going to force her out of it at the expense of people I actually enjoy being around.

Did I just admit that? No, no I didn't.

The perfect solution for that problem far in the future? Personal shame. No one will acknowledge Hayama's "dark secret" in fear of their own. They'll chock it up to "we all did dumb stuff when we were young(as if they are no longer young)" and convince themselves that it's insignificant. This will work even better for Miura, who so desperately wants to believe that.

In that same way, Yukino will also be off the hook, though I guess Miura will be a little more aggressive towards her for a while.

See? Everyone's happy.

Allowing the group to acclimate to this new information, and also because I now genuinely had to use the bathroom, I stood and slid past the Yuigahama and then Yukinoshita after her.

Now caught up in conversation, likely as an attempt to push the preceding events behind them, the table barely noticed my departure. Though, Haruno's silence at said events was certainly strange.

Glancing at her, she seemed to be wearing her amiable smile, one that would likely cause a younger me to confess on the spot. Behind that, though, was a look in her eye I couldn't quite discern. I'm not sensitive enough to others emotions to discern what it was, otherwise I wouldn't be living my current life, but I could damn sure understand that there must be a thousand thoughts running around in her head.

With a sigh, I ignored it and continued on my way.

What immediately caught my eye the very moment I entered the grimy boys bathroom were the mirrors. Three of them were on the walls, adjacent to the stall and urinals. I didn't want to be bothered with my unstable mental state so I ignored them, drained the snake, and left.

Is what I wished happened.

Instead, I finished leaking the lizard only to turn around and find myself face to face with the same scene from this morning. That being an emotionless, expressionless, and imitative mask.

After having to wash my hands while staring at such a scene, I took a few steps back to where I could see all three mirrors.

From this angle, I could clearly see all three showing that same fog, and yet only one showed the mask. Despite putting myself in a position where I would have been visible from each mirror, I could only find that mist in the other two. In that way, it began to feel less like a mirror and more like I was looking into somewhere else. It felt as if there was another person standing on the other side of that mirror. It felt like another me was on the other side of that mirror.

An idea hit me then, and I reached for my phone only to realize that I had left it in my seat. The idea had been to photograph the mirrors and see if the fog appeared there, but I already had an idea of how that would turn out anyways.

And so instead, as I had refrained from doing this morning, I let my instincts take over. My hand rose to the mirror, yet no hand met mine as it grew closer. Despite the sweat on my own face and the shaking of my fingers, there wasn't a single response from the unknown entity on the other side, not a single acknowledgement.

And yet, I felt it was expectant. As if it were anticipating me. That expressionless mask seemed to be taunting me. The same way the long-nosed man had taunted me. The same way all the others had when I was in the "Velvet Room."

I was being mocked.

I knew it.

Like that, my hand retreated. I didn't rise to it's temptation. I didn't rise to meet it as it had wished.

My fingers curled into a ball, and I struck.

Amusingly, The End Result Did Not Change


	4. As Was Presumed

My fist passed the threshold.

I could only be surprised as I saw my hand actually enter a solid object. It's speed now slowing down significantly, my fist began to inch it's way towards my intended target. My temporary rage couldn't help but be overcome by overwhelming fear, now soaking my body in a cold sweat.

Even worse, I was given time to reflect on my impulsive actions.

Why in the world had I just given in to a clear sign of insanity? Seeing things? I'm crazy, I must be. And yet, here I could see, feel even, that my hand was actually _moving_ through a solid object. Indeed, rather than through, it seemed to be moving _into_ something, crossing over into another world, into something more outrageous than could be discerned from just the mask and a fleeting retreat during my sleep.

As if sensing the presence of an intruder, the fog began to react. Taking on form and autonomy, it rushed out of the mirror, consuming my fist and crawling up my forearm.

"Shit!" I yelled, desperate now for some sort of purchase. I had already committed, my fist was already mid-flight, what else was there to do but continue it's path? And, even deeply afraid, there was no way I could give in to whatever was lying on the other side of the mirror. A mask? My mask? Impossible. I wear no masks, I hold no facades. That is my one admirable trait, my one truth. Unlike those who refuse to acknowledge themselves and live in deluded complacency, I know for a fact who I truly am. No person, be it Yukinoshita or Igor, could tell me otherwise.

I wanted that mask gone.

Despite my desire, however, the fog continued to consume. It ate my shoulder, holding my body in a solid embrace, anchoring me to it. From there it took my torso, restraining my breathing, suffocating me.

I was going to die.

I felt it, I knew it. It was a certainty I only decided to recognize when my life was blinking out before my eyes. For certain, this fog was going to squeeze every drop of air out of my lungs and absorb my lifeless corpse into it's endless hell.

I'm about to die.

It taunted me, taking my legs next and pulling me slightly towards the mirror.

Then, slowly, it began on my neck. Chocking me directly, it continued up my chin and funneled into my mouth. My consciousness was starting fade. I could feel the fog tightening around my entire head, my eyes no longer reflected anything but white.

I felt a sharp pain on my hand, followed by a loud crack, before my entire body was lunged forward, presumably into the mirror.

My face felt cold.

"Ugh..." I groaned as I lifted my body off of a hard floor.

"What the hell? This shit again?" I exclaimed as I looked around, taking in my new environment.

I was in handcuffs, locked behind bars in a dark cell. Dark brown brick surrounded me on all sides, except for the gated entrance.

Holding my throbbing head, I remembered what brought me to this situation.

"Did the fog bring me here?" I asked no one but myself.

Looking at my bruised knuckles, I could tell everything that happened before was real. Either that, or the coma I was in was producing some very realistic dreams.

That was a thought. Touching the cold floor beneath me, I couldn't convince myself this wasn't reality.

I stood and walked toward the bars, looking outside. There were only similar cells in front of me and to my left and right. I could barely see a staircase coming down on the other side of the hallway to my left, but other than that there was nothing to indicate where I was or why I was here.

"Anybody here?" I called out.

I heard the distinct flapping of wings before a response sounded out.

"How ya doin'?"

I blinked.  
I could swear I just heard a woman's voice.

"Hey, you listenin?" Once again, the silky voice echoed through the hallway.

Directly across from me was a bird, a Crow to be exact, staring meaningfully in my direction, as if expecting a response.

"Was that you speaking?" I decided to leave out the 'I must be crazy part.' If I was able to travel through a mirror, then surely talking crows weren't too far off...right?

"Indeed it was, my young friend. Seems you're in quite the pickle." And once again contrary to normal human understanding, the bird did indeed respond to me, it's beak opening and closing as if to mimic human words. I had to squint to make out her form in the dark, but there was no doubt about it, she was communicating with me.

"Do you know how I got here? Where we are?"

"Well, some guards lugged you in here about 10 minutes ago and tossed you in that cage. As for where we are, you know best as me right now. I'm not familiar with this person's palace."

Palace?

"What's a-"

Before I could voice my question, I heard metal clanging coming from my left. Large hunched forms with silver masks covering their faces approached. All of them were wearing suits of armor, like knights or something to that effect. Following behind them was the very last person I expected to see here. It wasn't a policeman, or even an acquaintance planning a rescue. Instead, it was Yukinoshita Haruno.

Surprising me even more, she was wearing a long flowing robe and a crown. She had an aura befitting a monarch, her breathtaking beauty only multiplied with the overly flashy clothing.

"Haruno, what the hell are you wearing? What are you doing here? Can you get these guys to let me out of here?" She didn't deign me with an answer to any of those questions until she finished her slow and purposeful journey to the front of my cell. Only then, after she had stopped and turned to meet my eyes, did she begin to speak.

"I'll make this simple for you, Hachiman." Her voice carried with it the expectation that she was to be obeyed, the command and majesty of a queen. "Become mine." Her entrancing voice almost made me respond with "Yes Onee-san!" instantly. Only, too many things were going on, too many things didn't make any sense.

"You can't be serious. What are you talking about?" I responded, bewildered by the situation. This can't be real, it can't be.

"My request is very clear. Forget about my sister, irresponsible as she is, and be mine. I'm tired of waiting for you to get bored of her."

...what?

Ignoring the question of why Haruno would even want that, the further question of what that would mean for the Service Club ate away at my mind. Sure, Haruno was attractive, but experience told me that she only ever wanted to ensnare people and use them. Whatever the meaning behind this event, it hinted at more of Haruno's idea of "fun," something I was willing to do anything to avoid.

"I don't know if that was a confession or something, but no. That's not a request I can accept."

A smirk grew on her face, indicating that my resistance was humorous. Her eyes grew colder and the armored figures around her placed their hands on their weapons.

"I like that about you Hachiman, your futile attempts to run from me." She waved down the knights. "You'll stay here for as long you think my sister is the more appealing option."

With that, she turned on her heel and started a brisk walk in the other direction. Her knights following behind loyally.

I collapsed against the wall, releasing tension from my body.

"What the hell is going on here!?" I yelled, the sound echoing throughout my cell and to the crow quietly watching from the other side.

"Looks like that one is obsessed with you. Care to share the story?" She asked, humour evident in her tone.

"I didn't ask for this, dammit. Being crazy is one thing, but being locked up in some dungeon by Haruno is a level of torture I don't deserve."

I looked back and forth examining the minimalistic cell in the hope that I'd find some insignificant clue that allowed me to escape, there was no such clue.

"You do realize I can get you outta here, right? By the way, my name is Koda." Suddenly, the crow was standing right in front of my cell, staring directly at me.

"How did you get out of there? Didn't they throw you in just like me?"

"No, I can squeeze through the bars no problem. I followed you here from the entrance. One moment I'm flying through the air and the next there's an unconscious high schooler slumped over on the ground. Curiosity got the better of me and I stayed around long enough to see the knights capture you, one thing led to another and here I am. My guess is you somehow slipped into the metaverse unawares."

Less slipped and more like forced into.

"What's the metaverse? Is that where we are?" Finally, some answers. Even if they did come in the form of a talking crow.

"Indeed. It's a sort of seperate dimension created and influenced by the human unconcious, most will never see it their entire lives. Sure is a big coincidence that you ended up here at all."

Something told me it was definitely _not_ a coincidence.

"Human unconcious?"

"Yeah, people's understanding of the world takes physical form here, almost like taking a literal walk through people's minds."

"You mean Haruno sees, or rather understands herself as a queen so she appears as one in this...metaverse, you say?"

"Indeed. Though, places like the one we're currently in are called "Palaces," they only appear if someone's understanding of the world distorts so much it takes on a life of it's own within the metaverse as an actual place. Most people's distortions exist in the normal metaverse, a foggy wasteland that's hard to navigate.

I use the metaverse to travel. Places here can connect to places outside in ways you don't expect."

This was a lot to take in, but in a way it sort of made sense. More sense than anything else had so far, anyway.

"Wait, I was pulled in here by fog, it almost killed me. Was that to say that I'm wanted dead by the general public?"

"No, things in the metaverse tend to interact with each other only, we're outsiders. I've never seen the fog act that way though, sounds interesting." She cawed, the Crow version of laughter I guessed.

"And what are you supposed to be? I've never seen a talking crow before."

"I'd be more respectful if you want me to get you outta here, kid." She asked, flapping her wings again.

"Alright, where's the way out? How do we leave?"

"Before that, I'm gonna have to find a key to this cell. I might be able to get through these bars easily but you'd have a much harder time of it."

Before I could say anything, she sped off, leaving me alone to ponder what she said. I could only hope she'd make good on her promise and get me out of here.

This had to be what Igor was referring to, right? Unexplainable Events? I definitely can't find a _normal_ explanation for anything going on.

There was nothing for me to solve though, no problem that required ny attention. The only thing I wanted to do was get out of here and never look back, and Koda was that ticket out of here.

Before long, Koda returned holding a keyring. She landed on the bars and skillfully maneuvered her beak to unlock the gate.

"Before I do this, you have to agree to do exactly as I say. I can lead us the right way but these knights are no joke. They'll kill you if you're not careful, that Haruno won't be able to stop them if they find us alone."

With a clink, the door swung open. Relief flooded through me as I slinked out of the cage.

"One of these should open those cuffs."

"Are shadows those knights I saw before? The ones with Haruno?" I said as I loosed my hands from the handcuffs. My newfound freedom was about to be shortlived if I ended up dead in some seperate dimension.

"Them, and the girl herself. The girl is the other side of the one you should know in reality, her "other self." The knights are simply common distortions, demons even, they take many forms but most often act under the orders of more powerful distortions.

They're dangerous, and will kill you in a heartbeat. We should do our best to avoid being detected."

An "other self" huh? She wasn't too different from the real Haruno.

Koda landed on my shoulder and directed me toward the stairs. I shrunk my form as much as possible and began my ascent, keeping my eyes and ears open for any knights ready to attack.

The stairs opened up to another hallway. To my right was a shadow facing the other direction, guarding a doorway. To my left was a spiral staircase leading upwards.

"Which way Koda-san?"

"Left, quickly." She whispered.

"Got it."

We went up the spiral staircase, passing by a few more floors full of cells before we reached a large wooden door.

"There should be a few shadows on the other side of this door, don't panic."

I nodded quietly.

Opening the door slowly, I was met with a large room with rows of book shelves on either side. Open books were strewn about a table in the middle of the room, but nothing else seemed to indicate a human had been inside. On the other side of the room, however, were two knights conversing in front of the door.

"Queen Yukinoshita is in a bad mood, you think it's that new prisoner?"

"It has to be, doesn't it. I wonder how long he'll last. No one goes against her will for long or they get erased."

"We'll just have to see..."

The one on the right snorted. "I'd just kill him if it were up to me. No need for all the stress."

"Well it isn't up to us. The Queen is having her fun with him, she'll be mad if you end it too quickly."

"Move" Koda said hurriedly,"while their distracted."

I snuck to the furthest bookshelf on the left and waited quietly, ignoring the frightening reality that my life was actually in danger. If one of these guys caught me, I'd be dead in a second. No one would ever find my body.

I waited until the two guards had begun patrolling before going. The shadow was just on the other side of the bookshelf, I could almost feel the lumbering knight. His footsteps vibrated the floor slightly and he moved with surprising speed.

"Come on, go!"

I made almost no noise as I moved, reaching the door silently and putting myself on the other side of it as fast as possible.

"We're close. The entrance is just here."

Sure enough, I could finally see two massive doors in the next room. To my right was a massive staircase that split off to the left and right leading to a second floor.

I couldn't hide myself like before. I had no choice but to try my best to make myself unnoticeable and made my way across the large open space.

From the other side of the entrance, I heard voices.

"Finally changing shifts, I'm tired."

"Stop complaining, the Queen would crack you in half if she caught you mouthing off about shifts."

"Sure, sure. Easier said than done."

Dammit, and we were so close! I looked behind me and started moving up the staircase, hoping for somewhere to hide.

In an instant, I noticed two soldiers moving down the steps from both sides. Their hunched forms doubly imposing as they blocked off my chances of escape.

The doors opened.

"Halt!"

I tried to run back to where I came from, even though I knew more enemies waited for me on the other side. However, they were stronger and faster than me, ny hands were restrained behind my back before I knew it.

"Looks like this little rat almost made it out." One said.

"That'd be our heads you know, all of ours. No way we're lettin' im get away now."

Koda had already fluttered away, leaving me alone to deal with the four armed shadows.

There was no way I could win.

I can't believe I came this far only to be murdered! This isn't fair!

What the hell did Igor get off on locking me in some dungeon and forcing me to fend for myself? It didn't make any sense!

"Nighty night, rat. We'll just tell the Queen that there was no choice, right boys?" The one standing in front of me said, his emotionless mask reflecting light from the chandelier above.

He raised his sword up, casting a large shadow and moved to swing it down. Just like that, my life was about to dissappear. No more school. No more Service Club. No more MAX Coffee. No more life.

All of it, gone.

"Is the one holding my namesake this weak?" A booming voice resounded.

What?

"I asked if one named Hachiman could be so weak as to be bested by these mere minions."

...I'm weak?

"Indeed. I feel nothing but shame to see one wearing the title Hachiman being killed like this.

It is I, God of Eight Banners, the Great Boddhisattva Hachiman!

I lend you, Hikigaya, my power. The power to destroy facades where they stand. The power to crush those who oppose you! The power to define this reality and your own, to define truth and falsehood.

I grant you-"

"Persona!"

 **As Was Presumed, His Existence Became Something Else Entirely**


End file.
